Dual function stopper



1967 E. P. HAITSCH DUAL FUNCTI ON STOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug.10, 1964 F'IG.1

H C W WM V R 0 m M 5 ATTORNEY Oct. 10, 1967 E. P. HAITSCH DUAL FUNCTIONSTOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR Epmqleo P. HA/nzv41w ATTORNEY United States P r 1 This invention relates to a stopperand, more particu larly, to a stopper which has the dual function ofsealing a container and holding a commodity within the container 2' inplace.

It is often desirable to provide means within a container to preventcommodities therein from moving about during shipment and handling sothat they do not become damaged as a result :of their movement withinthe container. For instance, wads of cotton are placed in bottlescontaining medicinal tablets to hold them in place to prevent dustingand undue breakage. Loose packing of various kinds is often used to holdother items in place within containers. These methods of preventingmovement of the article within the container require additional materialand added steps in the assembly line and are generally considered to beundesirable. Some items do not lend themselves to such types ofprotection for esthetic or other reasons. a

The stopper of the present invention is particularly adapted to provideprotection for such items as cigars and other similarly shaped fragileobjects. Cigars are often sold in glass tubes which are sealed withstoppers of conventional types. However, there is a certain amount oflooseness of the cigar within the tube which enables it to movelaterally and longitudinally and often the delicate outer wrapping ofthe cigar is damaged by rough handling of the package. The additionalstep of inserting a protective device within the container is avoided.The completed package is neat and attractive.

The present invention provides a simple, inexpensive stopper which canbe injection molded on a two-piece male-female mold from thermoplasticmaterials. The finished stopper serves the dual function of providing atight moisture-proof closure which also gently cradles fragile itemswithin the container and prevents their moving about during handling.

In order that the nature of the invention may be more clearlyunderstood, reference is made to the accompanying' drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the stopper ofthe present invention inserted in a tube holding a cigar;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional plan view taken along the line 3-3 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of a different embodiment of thestopper;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along line 6--6 ofFIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a bottom plan view of the stopper of FIGURE 5.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, a species 10 of the novel stopper of thepresent invention is shown inserted in the open end of a tube 11 whichcontains a cigar 12. In the embodiment shown, the stopper 10, FIGURE 2,is of twopiece construction having a cap portion 13 which is held inplace by one or more beads 14 which fit into complementary grooves 15 inthe inner wall of the body of the stopper. This particular constructionis not necessarily a part of the present invention, it being describedand claimed in United States Patent 2,549,404 issued Apr. 17, 1951, toH. W. Williams. This construction, however,

3,346,135 Patented Oct. 10, 1967 makes it possible to mold the main bodyof the stopper of the present invention in one operation with a singlepair of injection molds. The cap portion 13 may be molded in a separateoperation with another set of molds. Since the body 10 of the stopper isof a resilient material, the insert is easily snapped into place and isfirmly held in position. Because of this construction, it is possible"to make the cap insert 13 of a different material or color and havevarious decorative and informative material thereon. As will be seen, itis unnecessary to have more than one mold for stoppers of a singlediameter, yet the inserted cap may provide a large variety of designs.

The essentially novel features of the stopper of the present inventionreside in the structure which provides a plurality of, at least three,fingers 16 which extend from the side walls of the body of the stopperinwardly and upwardly into the hollow interior of the stopper as isshown in FIGURE 2. These independent fingers are .of relatively thinconstruction and since the body of the stopper is molded of a resilientthermoplastic material, they are readily deformed to accommodate variousshapes. FIGURE 4 shows a structure of eight such fingers, but as will beobvious, more or less than this number can be provided and the stopperwill perform its intended function of holding the cigar or other itemfirmly in the axis of the container, so that it cannot move about and bedamaged.

The embodiment shown in FIGURES 5, 6, and 7 provides a more rigidstructure. The upwardly turnedfingers 17 are shorter and hence stiffer.When made of resilient material, they will yield to conform to the shapeof irregular objects just as in the embodiment first described but willtend to hold the object more firmly in place. In addition, the sidewalls 18 are longer, are not cut up with the fingers, are stiffer, andthe stopper will hold better in the neck of a container.

A small bead 19 may be molded on the outer periphery of the tubularmember if desired. This provides a better seal and also makes itpossible to determine on inspection that the closure is complete whenthe stopper is inserted in the neck of a clear bottle, owing to anoptical shadow effect that is produced. Of course, if desired, thestopper may have several small beads.

It will be obvious from 'the drawings that the structure shown .willaccommodate cigars which vary a little in length. As might be expected,cigars of the same design are subject to dimensional variations both inthickness and length and the resilient fingers readily accommodatethemselves to such variations.

Various injectable thermoplastic materials may be used in molding thestopper of the present invention. Among these are polyethylene ofvarious densities, polypropylene, nylon, cellulose esters such ascellulose propionate, high impact polystyrenes, methyl methacrylatepolymers, synthetic rubbers, and various other synthetic plasticmaterials which are characterized by having a relatively high degree ofresilience. The. plastic material should, however, have sufiicientrigidity so that the eradling fingers may serve the function of holdingthe packaged item in place. Any of the synthetic polymers men tionedabove will be satisfactory.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a stopperparticularly adapted to hold cigars in a glass tube, it will be obviousthat the stopper will also be useful in holding other fragile items suchas electronic tubes, vials containing biologicals, and other items whichare likely to break if allowed to move about in the container in whichthey are shipped.

What is claimed is:

1. A two-piece stopper of molded resilient thermoplastic materialcomprising a tubular section adapted to be pressed into the neck of abottle, said tubular section having a top section of greater diameterproviding a shoulder to engage the edge of a neck of a bottle into whichthe lower end of the tubular section may be inserted, said top sectionhaving on its inner surface an annular groove, a cap portion inserted inthe tubular top section closing the same, said cap having acircumferential bead fitted into the annular groove of the said topsection, the lower tubular section of said stop-per having a pluralityof'thin resilient fingers extending downwardly, then curving inwardlyand upwardly into the tubular section of thestopper providing means forholding an object.

2. A two-piece stopper of molded resilient thermoplastic materialadapted to close a container having a circular opening and holding anobject within said container from moving about during handling whichcomprises a hollow tubular body section having an inset cap memberforming the top of the stopper and a plurality of thin resilient fingersextending downwardly from the tubular body of the stopper for a shortdistance, then curving inwardly and upwardly into the hollow tubularsection of the stopper providing means for holding an object.

3. A two-piece stopper of molded resilient thermoplastic materialadapted to close a container having a circular opening and holding anobject within said container from References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS474,613 5/1892 Strain 20641 1,132,201 3/1915 McManus 206-41 1,485,2672/1924 Herks 2064l 2,095,870 10/1937 Hirsh 206-41 2,246,642 6/ 1941Stachowiak 206-41 2,767,864 10/1956 Litsenborg 2l537 3,126,117 3/1964Mundt 215-37 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,530 2/ 1936 Switzerland.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner.

1. A TWO-PIECE STOPPER OF MOLDED RESILIENT THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALCOMPRISING A TUBULAR SECTION ADAPTED TO BE PRESSED INTO THE NECK OF ABOTTLE, SAID TUBULAR SECTION HAVING A TOP SECTION OF GREATER DIAMETERPROVIDING A SHOULDER TO ENGAGE THE EDGE OF A NECK OF A BOTTLE INTO WHICHTHE LOWER END OF THE TUBULAR SECTION MAY BE INSERTED, SAID TOP SECTIONHAVING ON ITS INNER SURFACE AN ANNULAR GROOVE, A CAP PORTION INSERTED INTHE TUBULAR TOP SECTION CLOSING THE SAME, SAID CAP HAVING ACIRCUMFERENTIAL BEAD FITTED INTO THE ANNULAR GROOVE OF THE SAID TOPSECTION, THE LOWER TUBULAR SECTION OF SAID STOPPER HAVING A PLURALITY OFTHIN RESILIENT FINGERS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY, THEN CURVING INWARDLY ANDUPWARDLY INTO THE TUBULAR SECTION OF THE STOPPER PROVIDING MEANS FORHOLDING AN OBJECT.